With the arrival of spring, a man finds his mind turning towards fanciful
matters; love, romance, and taking chances … it’s the unspoken license given by nature to kick off one’s shoes and walk barefoot in the grass or burst out into song for no reason other than the fact that it just feels good to be carefree and silly. Lachlan Curry discovered that he wasn’t immune to such flights of fancy, but while his thoughts were filled with the lingering kisses from a certain brunette, they were also filled with the desire to build and create. 

Visions of power tools were dancing in his head.

It happened without warning. He’d always been adept with his hands and mechanically inclined, but it had been a good many years since he’d picked up a hammer or saw. When he was younger he’d often help his dad whenever there was a project around the house that needed attention; a set of canning shelves for his mother, a door that wasn’t hanging quite plumb; once he’d even crafted a jewelry box from discarded pomegranate wood for a girl he fancied when he was 12 years old. Having a strong mathematic aptitude, he had grown up imagining that perhaps one day he’d make his living as an architect if he never had the opportunity to find a job as a pilot somewhere. Then the war came, and the decision was made for him. He had spent enough hours in his father’s old crop duster while growing up that it had been as natural as breathing.  
 
And then he had crossed over.

It had taken him a long time to make the adjustment to what had become of his past while facing a strange new future, but being able to fly had always been his touchstone, the one constant that kept him centered when he had been uncertain as to what might lie ahead. He learned to avoid thinking too much about the family he had unwillingly left behind, finding it easier on his heart to keep those memories locked away. It hurt too much to do otherwise.   

But who could have predicted that a television commercial for a Black and Decker scroll saw would be responsible for causing the memories to resurface? What surprised Lachlan the most was that the longing ache he had feared had been replaced by a nostalgic warmth as he recalled some of the moments from his childhood; the pomegranate box, the canning shelves; his mother’s smile as she watched her husband and son together; simple things, yet these moments and others had helped make him into the man he had become, the man who had survived.

He didn’t know how much of these things he could share with Jessie. Their relationship was still too new, and maybe it really wasn’t important that she know everything. It would be a lot for anyone to digest, but he wanted her to see a clearer picture of who he really was and where he had been, and let her know that he hoped she’d want to be an important part of his future. It was then that he decided to give her a piece of himself, in the shape of a small rosewood chest.

He enjoyed going to the Home Depot and picking out the wood. More expensive than simple pine or redwood, there was just enough in stock for his purpose. He then visited an architectural salvage shop in Little Italy to find just the right etched brass hinges and a matching hasp lock. He found something else while he was there as well; while combing through the bins in one of the back rooms he came across a bucket containing old doorknobs. Enamel and brass with lush scroll-worked escutcheons, and then he found one made of amber hued glass and although he had no immediate need for such an item, he decided to buy it.

The man who owned the store smiled when Lachlan placed the items on the check-out counter. “Oh, that’s a nice choice.” Picking up the doorknob he turned it over in his hands, a wistful smile playing on his lips. “You know, I have a drawer full of old keys. I usually charge five to ten dollars apiece for them, but let’s see if I can’t find one that might work with this lock … I’ll throw it in for free. I like to see these old beauties going to a good home.” He reached over and removed a small drawer from the old cabinet located behind him, humming an unidentifiable tune as he plucked through the contents and began to test out several keys.

“Ah! Found one!” The shop owner held up the doorknob and inserted a key into the lock mechanism to demonstrate. “You renovating, or just nostalgic?”

Lachlan shook his head. “Maybe just pining for the past more than anything. I’m renting right now, but ya never know …”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Lachlan wondered if he did, but it really didn’t matter. Paying for his items, he again thanked the man for his assistance. As he left the shop and walked back towards his SUV he realized that he did have a reason for purchasing the doorknobs, but didn’t allow his thoughts to extend much further. All in good time …

Over the next several evenings he worked on his project; creating the template, cutting, gluing, sanding, notching out the dovetails, and varnishing the wood. When he was finished, he realized that he still had the knack for creating something out of nothing with just his hands and a few tools, and the sense of pride he felt was similar to what he had  experienced when he crafted the little  pomegranate box another lifetime ago. It was far better than anything he could ever buy in a store or online, and it felt good to once again reconnect with a part of himself that he had thought was long forgotten.

***

There’s a saying that a woman will often know the man she is destined to marry within moments of meeting him for the very first time. Jessie had listened to enough of her girlfriends claiming the same over the years, and she was never really convinced that it was more than simple wish fulfillment projected. It was easy for a woman to find herself completely bowled over by a man, she reasoned, based upon various emotional and hormonal fluctuations. If the man was attractive, that made the equation even easier to understand. Add a little alcohol, and a road trip to Las Vegas was imminent.

She’d observed enough couples at the bar where she worked to be convinced that love at first sight, if it existed at all, was best if it occurred in a brightly lit area with plenty of air flow and a clear pathway to the front door. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to believe; but she believed more strongly in the old adage once burned, twice shy.  Problem was; Jessie’s heart had been broken by not one but three men in the space of as many years. She referred to herself as the triple threat and even though she would laugh about it whenever the subject of ex-boyfriends came up, anyone who truly knew her would have been able to see that she considered them anything but a laughing matter.

The fact that Lachlan had somehow managed to break through her tough emotional armor armed with nothing more than a smile, suggested that perhaps the old sayings weren’t too far from the mark after all. Where just two weeks earlier the male patrons at Flannigan’s Pub had referred to Jessie behind her back as The Barracuda (a moniker reportedly started by Lachlan’s Flight Officer friend, Jerry Badger), they simply nodded their heads knowingly when the cocktail waitresses explained that the reasons their drinks all tasted funny was because the bartender was in love. If you ordered a scotch on the rocks, expect bourbon; if you wanted a beer on tap, expect a bottle of ale instead. Long Island Iced Tea? Try asking for a rum and coke. Her whole demeanor was so transformed that not one of the bar’s regulars had the heart to point out her errors. Who would have predicted that the moody brunette could be so sweet and friendly simply because she had met the man she was destined to marry?

Jessie knew she was a walking contradiction, but she didn’t care. After their very first date on Valentine’s Day evening, they’d sat in a booth at the local Denny’s for no less than four hours just talking about everything and nothing until Lachlan apologetically announced that he had to report to his unit’s morning roll call in less than two hours. Once he took her back to Flannigan’s Pub to pick up her car, they kissed each other senseless for close to half an hour, neither wanting to break this incredible spell that had caught them completely unawares.

For their second date, Lachlan took Jessie flying. The day was sparkling clear and warm, and the little Cessna 172 handled like a champ as he piloted north over the coastal cites of Del Mar and Solana Beach. Afterwards they drove over to nearby Seaport Village to have dinner overlooking the ocean as the sun set before them in an explosion of pinks, azures and oranges. A moonlit stroll along the Embarcadero afterwards, they then made their way back to Jessie’s apartment where they continued to talk until after midnight. It wasn’t that they were avoiding sexual contact; in fact they spent a fair amount of their time together just kissing and touching as if making sure that the other was indeed real. While Lachlan and Jessie had both known their share of one night stands and ill advised pairings, there was something unspoken that was making them hold back from sexual intimacy until the moment was just right. It was also a time of confession; Jessie told Lachlan about her failures at romance and Lachlan shared a few of his own, most notably the heartbreak that came from falling in love with Lil. Jessie didn’t judge any part of his past, understanding through a few of her own experiences that some things happened despite one’s own best intentions to behave or do otherwise. For his part, Lachlan was happy that Jessie had been jaded just long enough to wait for him to come into her life and knock her back on her heels with no more than an earnest smile.

Finally, three weeks into their relationship, the evening came where they knew enough about each other and had had enough of kissing, waiting and talking. Jessie wondered how long it would take from the time Lachlan walked in her front door ‘til they ended up in her bed, and Lachlan wondered if Jessie knew how hard it had been for him to wait as long as they had.

By six PM Jessie had changed her clothes a total of three times, finally settling on a soft cotton sundress. She wore her hair down and minimal makeup. When Lachlan finally arrived she found him standing at the door with the rosewood chest in his arms.

“What’s this?” Her eyes lingered on the chest for just a moment before her arms encircled his neck awkwardly for a much longed for kiss. “I don’t know what smells better – you or this!”

He steered her inside and shut the door behind them. “Well, I was about to say it was the chest, but all I can smell right now is lasagna and garlic bread.” As much as he wanted to  pick her up in his arms and carry her off to the bedroom, the scent of a home cooked dinner was enough to make him turn an about face. “When’s dinner ready?”

“In a few minutes.” She reached for his hand and he pulled her close.

“I made this for you.” Handing over the chest he watched in satisfaction as Jessie’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh Lach, this is beautiful!” She trailed her fingertips over the wood and front clasp. “But it’s locked!”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Reaching into his pocket he retrieved the key and placed it into her outstretched hand, delighting in her excitement. “Here, let’s sit down.”

Taking the box from her reluctant hands, he led her into the living room and set the chest on the coffee table. Sitting next to her on the couch, he smiled in anticipation as she fit the key into the lock and lifted open the top.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you made this for me. It’s absolutely beautiful!” The unique scent of rosewood wafted up from the chest’s interior and Jessie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

“I guess you like it?”

She threw herself into his arms. “You big goof, I adore it!” She gave him a deep, lingering kiss and he held her close, feeling his pants tighten as his body responded to her touch. He could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra and he wondered what else she wasn’t wearing underneath, but just then the timer in the kitchen went off and Jessie jumped free of his arms. “Oh my God, the garlic bread!”